Antennas are used in a wide variety of applications and technologies for communications and radar. The most common type of antenna, the dipole antenna, forms the basis for many other design variations. These dipole-based antennas, and other conventional antenna designs, are generally fabricated to have sizes that are directly related to the frequency ranges in which such antennas are to operate. For example, conventional antennas are typically designed to have sizes that include element lengths that are ½ or ¼ as long as the wavelength of electromagnetic emissions that are to be transmitted or received by the antennas.
Given the direct relationship between antenna length and frequency that so often applies, it can be appreciated that as the frequency to be supported decreases, the antenna length generally must correspondingly increase. This phenomena means that relatively large antenna sizes would be needed to support communications at lower frequencies. For some applications, such as, for example, portable devices or airborne platforms, size and/or weight restrictions may preclude the use of large antennas. The large antennas may create radar cross section impacts or aerodynamic impacts that are unacceptable for certain applications, or may simply require too many other design tradeoffs to be made to allow such antennas to be supported in certain environments.
Accordingly, it may be desirable to develop a technology that allows a break from the restrictions described above. By providing a technology that allows long dipole style antennas to be removed and replaced with smaller, perhaps conformal antennas, significant improvements may be experienced in the area of wireless communication. For example, applications in the High Frequency (HF) range of 3 MHz to 30 MHz, for HF SIGINT on aircraft and communications for vehicles, aircraft, and man packs may be significantly advanced. Similarly, any other applications where size or weight restrictions have precluded supporting of certain frequency ranges in a communications context may also be greatly aided by such a technology.